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Saint Patrick on Inishmore

Hugh Nolan, Fermanagh
Henry Glassie, 1972

Well, the principal story that ever I heard related, it was when Saint Patrick came to Ireland.

He landed down south and he traveled on towards the north.

And you'd think for to hear about Saint Patrick that he was just a lonely missioner that landed in this country, and he had nobody along with him.

But he had a very big contingent.

He had tradesman of all classes.

And there was a staff of women for to make vestments (that'd be the robes that the priest would be wearing while he would be saying the Mass), and for to make all the linens in connection with the altars. He had them.

And he had men then for making the altar vessels and everything that was a-wanting.

And then he had men for looking after the horses and keeping them shod and keeping them right.

But they traveled on anyway and finally they got as far as Inishmore.

They come on right up from the south of Ireland and they were traveling through Inishmore on this occasion.

And didn't the horse that he was riding upset, he slipped and he hurted his back, and of course he wasn't able to get up.

So there was some kind of an herb, or something in the grass,

and Saint Patrick lifted it up

and he rubbed it to the horse's back,

and the horse jumped up.

Well, for years and years after, there used to come people from all airts and parts where they'd get hurts, or bruises, or cuts or anything.

And there was people, they were the name of Nobles.

And they were Protestant farmers.

And it was on their land that this herb was.

And they were all the men that knew it or could point it out.

So they used to point it out to these people.

And they used to apply it.

So I haven't heard any word now about it this long time, because the family died out, do ye know, and whether they bequeathed this knowledge they had to anyone else, I never heard.

But they knew it, and they would point it out to you or me or any other person that was suffering.

The herb as known as dho. That was the name of it.

< SAINT PATRICK

From Fairy & Folk Tales of Ireland. Ed. W.B. Yeats. New York: Touchstone, 1998.

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